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TRANS-DISCIPLINARY_RESEARCH_CLUSTER,_JNU
Pluralist_Health_Care:_Knowledge,_Technology,_Practices_and_Policy
Increasingly,_health_care_is_becoming_pluralistic_throughout_the_world_with_the_wide_variety_of_ailments_and_conditions_requiring_expert_attention._The_list_of_health_problems_requiring_expert_attention_is_growing_bigger_and_bigger_with_the_addition_of_life_style_ailments,_recovery_from_accidents_and_trauma,_iatrogenic_problems,_mental_ailments_and_adjustment_problems_to_the_existing_burden_of_acute,_genetic_and_infectious_diseases._Improvements_in_life_expectancy,_has_brought_aging_related_problems_on_board_alongside_pressing_problems_of_child_health_and_nutrition. _No_one_medical_system_is_adequate_to_handle_these_problems_and_populations_habitually_resort_to_various_remedies_and_approach_a_number_of_experts._Different_knowledges_and_practices_are_found_in_the_public_domain_with_governments_promoting_a_whole_range_of_medicines_and_wellbeing_practices_under_its_health_care_delivery_mechanism._In_short,_pluralist_health_care_has_become_a_global_phenomenon._The_private_sector_is_already_booming_with_health_services_of_diverse_nature,_both_regulated_and_unregulated._A_lot_of_cross_practice_is_found_with_professionals_trained_in_one_system_adopting_some_practices_from_others_and_has_created_a_vast_area_of_medical_practice_with_blurred_borders.
India_is_endowed_with_rich_biodiversity_and_is_also_the_hub_of_medical_pluralism;_a_wealth_of_knowledge_on_the_medical_uses_of_plants_and_minerals_is_scattered._India_is_also_a_global_leader_in_the_manufacture_of_generic_biomedical_drugs_with_a_significant_infrastructure_for_pharmaceutical_development._What_are_the_institutions_in_India_where_plural_medical_practices_co-exist?_What_kinds_of_interaction_are_found_between_systems_of_medicine_and_medical_practices?_How_effective_are_these_interactions_for_the_medical_and_health_practices_involved?_What_kind_of_policies_and_models_of_medical_pluralism_are_adopted_by_countries_of_the_world?_Which_legal_frameworks_and_approaches_will_be_relevant,_meaningful_and_effective_for_the_Indian_situation?
Herbs_have_become_important_commodities_under_medical_pluralism_and_India_as_a_region_with_high_scale_of_biodiversity_is_at_the_cross_roads._What_kind_of_protocols_and_influences_are_found_in_the_development_of_new_‘herbaceuticals’?_What_are_biomarkers_used_in_integrated_drug_development_and_how_are_they_developed?_There_are_numerous_individual_studies_on_pluralistic_health_practices,_but_missing_is_a_broader_classificatory_framework_within_which_they_could_be_placed_and_critically_examined_in_their_multiple_dimensions. _Mainstreaming_of_AYUSH_systems_of_medicine_in_the_public_and_private_health_care_delivery_institutions_has_also_given_rise_to_important_issues_of_integration_of_medical_systems_and_mass_production_of_traditional_drugs.
This_Trans-disciplinary_Research_Cluster_on_‘Pluralist_Health_Care’_is_a_platform_to_engage_with_the_eight_officially_recognized_systems_of_health_knowledge_in_India--Allopathy,_Ayurveda,_Unani,_Siddha,_Sowa_Rigpa,_Homeopathy,_Yoga_and_Naturopathy--_along_with_the_folk_practices_and_practitioners_found_in_all_regions_of_the_country._It_proposes_to_bring_together_global_experience_on_developing_pluralist_systems_and_work_towards_developing_theoretical,_technological_and_systemic_approaches_to_pluralist_medicine_as_relevant_to_the_present_Indian_context.
Accordingly,_the_TRC_on_Pluralist_Health_Care_is_committed_to_the_following_objectives:
To_develop_a_trans-disciplinary_matrix_to_organize_plural_and_integrative_health_practices_and_research_at_various_institutional_levels_in_terms_of_their_biological,_clinical,_social,_organizational_and_policy_aspects.
To_document_published_research_work_on_this_theme._
To_develop_complete_case_studies_of_selected_diseases,_drugs/substances,_procedures,_institutions,_methods_of_validation_and_verification,_emergent_innovations_where_integrative_or_plural_approach_to_health_care_is_found
To_collate_information_on_state_mechanisms_for_regulating_medical_practices_and_promoting_robust_medical_pluralism_in_India_and_from_different_countries._To_develop_a_classificatory_system_of_models_of_medical_integration
To_work_towards_developing_legal_instruments_to_protect_medicinal_plants_and_traditional_health_related_knowledge_in_the_public_domain
These_are_challenging_tasks_demanding_expertise_across_disciplines_-_life_sciences,_medicine,_law_and_the_social_sciences.
This_TRC_has,_therefore,_been_instituted_by_a_group_of_nine_faculty_members_from_three_different_schools_and_six_Centres_of_JNU—_Centre_of_Social_Medicine_and_Community_Health,_Centre_for_the_Study_of_Social_Systems,_Centre_for_the_Study_of_Science_Policy_(all_in_the_School_of_Social_Sciences),_Special_Centre_for_Law_and_Governance,_the_School_of_Computational_and_Integrative_Sciences,_and_the_School_of_Environmental_Sciences._We_hope_to_involve_colleagues_within_the_university_from_other_Centres/Schools_as_well,_and_to_develop_collaborations_with_researchers/institutions_outside_JNU,_especially_those_engaged_in_practice_and_research_related_to_the_various_systems_of_medicine_and_health_knowledge.
Members_and_Publications_
Co-ordinator:
Dr._Saradindu_Bhaduri,
Centre_for_Studies_in_Science_Policy,
School_of_Social_Sciences_
Webpage:_https://jnu.ac.in/Faculty/saradindu/cv.pdf
Related_Publications:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0971721818762904
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0971721818762931
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/20421338.2018.1455314
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10198-012-0422-7
Co-coordinators:
Prof._Ritu_Priya,_CSMCH/SSS
_
Webpage:_https://www.jnu.ac.in/content/ritupriya
Related_Publications:
http://nhsrcindia.org/sites/default/files/Mainstreaming%20AYUSH%20Revitalizing%20LHT%20under%20NRHM.pdf
http://www.ijph.in/downloadpdf.asp?issn=0019-557X;year=2013;volume=57;issue=4;spage=193;epage=196;aulast=Priya;type=2
http://www.ijph.in/downloadpdf.asp?issn=0019-557X;year=2013;volume=57;issue=4;spage=212;epage=218;aulast=Priya;type=2
https://iias.asia/sites/default/files/IIAS_NL65_2425.pdf
http://www.mfcindia.org/main/bgpapers/bgpapers2011/am/bgpap2011w.pdf
Prof._Indira_Ghosh,_(Retd),_SCIS
Webpage:_http://ccbb.jnu.ac.in/ig-web/in_home.html
Relevant_Publications:
Prof._R.N.K._Bamezai,_(Retd),_SLS
Webpage:
Relevant_Publications:
Dr._Aditi_Saran,_SC&SS
Webpage:_https://www.jnu.ac.in/content/aditisharan
Related_Publications:
Prof._V_Sujatha,_CSSS/SSS
Webpage:_https://jnu.ac.in/content/sujathav
Related_Publications:
https://www.orientblackswan.com/BookDescription?isbn=978-81-250-4501-4&id=28&t=c
https://india.oup.com/product/sociology-of-health-and-medicine-9780198099130?searchbox_input=sociology%20of%20health%20and%20medicine
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/097172181001600204
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3193682/
https://in.sagepub.com/en-in/sas/critical-themes-in-indian-sociology/book266097#contents
Dr._Sunita_Reddy,_CSMCH/SSS
Webpage:https://jnu.ac.in/Faculty/sunitareddy/cv.pdf
Related_Publications:
https://doi.org/10.1186/1747-5341-8-20
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-015-9642-8
https://doi.org/10.1177/0049085713492275
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27644167
https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12576
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27807028
https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2007.11905978
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41920074
https://www.jstor.org/stable/41920125
Dr._Prachin_Ghodajkar,_CSMCH_/SSS
Webpage:https://www.jnu.ac.in/content/prachinjnu
Related_Publications:
http://www.mfcindia.org/curissue.pdf
Dr._Nupur_Chowdhury,_CSLG
Webpage:_https://jnu.ac.in/Faculty/nupur/index.html
Related_Publications:
European_Regulation_of_Medical_Devices_and_Pharmaceuticals_- https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-04594-8
Administrative_Structure_and_Functions_of_Drug_Regulatory_Authorities_- https://icrier.org/pdf/Working_Paper_309.pdf
Poor_Definitions_threaten_drug_trials_in_India_- https://www.nature.com/articles/nm0113-15?error=cookies_not_supported&code=0b09625e-fdca-401c-9393-51691fd2e1f8